AD Scout

AD Scout

A.D. Scout Sparrow ExCC.
Role	Fighter
Manufacturer	Air Department
Designer	Harris Booth^[1]
First flight	1915
Primary user	Royal Naval Air Service - testing only
Number built	4^[1]

The AD Scout (also known as the Sparrow) was designed by Harris Booth of the British Admiralty's Air Department as a fighter aircraft to defend Britain from Zeppelin bombers during World War I.^[1]

Design and development

The Scout was a decidedly unconventional aircraft - a biplane with a fuselage pod mounted on the upper wing. A twin-rudder tail was attached by four booms, and it was provided with an extremely narrow-track undercarriage. The primary armament was intended to be a 2-pounder recoilless Davis Gun, but this was never fitted.^[1] Four prototypes were ordered in 1915 and two each were built by Hewlett & Blondeau and the Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Company.

Operational history

Trials flown by pilots of the Royal Naval Air Service at Chingford proved the aircraft to be seriously overweight, fragile, sluggish, and difficult to handle, even on the ground. The project was abandoned and all four prototypes scrapped.^[1]

Operators

United Kingdom

Royal Naval Air Service

Specifications (AD Scout)

Data from The British Fighter since 1912^[2]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 22 ft 9 in (6.93 m)
Wingspan: 33 ft 5 in (10.18 m)
Height: 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m)
Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Monosoupape^[3] rotary engine, 100 hp (75 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 84 mph ^[4] (73 knots, 135 km/h)
Range: 210 miles (336 km)

Armament

Guns: 1x 2-pounder (40 mm) Davis recoilless gun (intended, but never fitted in view of the fragility of the Scout's construction)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to AD Scout.

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 Jackson, Aubrey Joseph (16 March 1989). Blackburn Aircraft since 1909 (1st ed.). London: Putnam & Company Ltd. pp. 98–101. ISBN 0-85177-830-5.
↑ Mason 1992, p.42.
↑ Bruce 1965, p.5.
↑ Lewis 1979, pp. 392—393.

Jackson, Aubrey Joseph (16 March 1989). Blackburn Aircraft since 1909 (1st ed.). London: Putnam & Company Ltd. pp. 98–101. ISBN 0-85177-830-5.
Lewis, Peter (1979). The British Fighter since 1912 (4th ed.). London: Putnam & Company Ltd. ISBN 0-370-10049-2.
Mason, Francis K. (1992). The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, USA: Putnam & Company Ltd. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
Bruce, J.M. (1965). War Planes of the First World War: Volume One Fighters. London: Macdonald.

Aircraft designed by the British Admiralty Air Department

Flying Boat Navyplane Scout (Sparrow) Type 1000

Aviation in World War I

People and aircraft	Commanders Aces Aircraft of the Entente Powers Aircraft of the Central Powers Zeppelins

Campaigns and battles	Strategic bombing German Cuxhaven Bombing of cities Aerial reconnaissance Fokker Scourge Flight over Vienna Bloody April Battles

Entente Powers air services	British air services Royal Flying Corps Royal Naval Air Service Royal Air Force Australian Flying Corps Canadian Air Force (1918–20) French Air Service Imperial Russian Air Service Royal Italian Air Corps United States Army Air Service Greek air services Army Air Service Naval Air Service

Central Powers air services	Imperial German Air Service Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops Ottoman Aviation Squadrons Bulgarian Army Aeroplane Section

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